Nothing remains of the demolished structure. Pfeifer has a photograph saved on her cell phone of Nathan, 16, standing on a tall heap of rubble.

“We need everything. It’s like we were just born,” Pfeifer said Wednesday, April 9. She was sitting on a donated couch in a house on Third Street.

How to help

Anyone who wishes to make a donation is welcome to call Shelia Pfeifer at 517-768-1066. The family's present address is 1014 Third St. in Jackson.

Her sister vacated the home so Pfeifer; her mother, Mary Pfeifer, 79; and her children, Nathan and Sheleah Stafford, 9, could move into it. Nathan had been sleeping on the sofa because he did not yet have a bed.

Helped by the local chapter of the American Red Cross and their renters insurance policy, they spent 22 days at hotels before finding a place to live. They have received some assistance from the community but continue to be short on many items, including a refrigerator.

“All of our clothes is gone. All our little things we’ve been holding onto, gone,” Pfeifer said. “To watch all your stuff burn, it was like a funeral.”

The house they had occupied for 17 years started on fire while the family went to church at the First Pentecostal Family Worship Center in Battle Creek. They received phone calls notifying them of the flames.

Shelia Pfeifer said an electrical issue caused the fire. She said there was water leaking into or around an electrical outlet and she presented pictures demonstrating the compromised condition of the house.

Jackson fire Deputy Chief David Wooden said authorities never officially determined what caused the fire. There was so much damage, they were not able to pinpoint it, he said, but investigators suspected an electrical issue.

The occupants spoke of difficulties with the house, but the owner denied having any knowledge of problems, Wooden said.

Shelia Pfeifer said she sent the landlord pictures.

There had been no recent city inspections and no formal complaints had been made to the city about the conditions, Wooden said.

Shelia Pfeifer said she always tended to the outside of the house. The plants and flowers were well manicured and maintained, she said, flipping through cell phone pictures taken when the grass was green.

“This is no fault of ours, and we are out of everything,” she said.

Her mother lost her bible, which she received from Jimmy Swaggart, a Pentecostal pastor who appears on TV, and Sheleah has none of her Monster High dolls or a “my size” doll house. “She is a loner, so for her not to have her things,” said Shelia Pfeifer, who is not worried about herself. “Me. That don’t matter."

Nathan is missing his trophies from modeling competitions.

A singer, he competed in 2011 in a tryout for the TV show “America’s Got Talent.” He made it to the second or third round and he does not believe he ever appeared on television.

He is a junior at Jackson High School. People there raised some money and provided him with a pair of sneakers.

Wednesday, the teen, who has a bone disorder and a small stature, was wearing clothes that were too big.

Before the fire, he had suits in various colors, his mother said. “And now, he’s got to dress like that,” she said.

Fortunately, he is staying focused on school, she said. He wants to be a dental hygienist and studies dental occupations at the Jackson Area Career Center.

“It's been devastating, but I’ve been dealing with it,” Nathan said.

His mother said it is difficult to explain her feelings.

“I don’t even try,” Nathan added.

They and their dogs are all right, however, Shelia Pfeifer said, and the family is “making it.”

From the rubble, they were able to save some pictures and other mementos.

Among them was a sign that hung above the bathroom. It appears completely unharmed.